C-Forum

Hey there,

Anyone have any notes they'd like to share w/ me? I'm 6'4"~230# right now. Im considering one or the other.

1. Does one foot length make a big difference in my abillity to NOT do unwanted stern squirts, etc..? 8ft Z vs 7ft SEZ

2. Is the cockpit in the Z as comfortable as the SEZ?... or are they both sufficiently large enough to be comfy for big-a$$ed paddlers like myself ? The Z is about 2" narrower.

3. Ill probably divide my time between river-running/playboating... The Z seems to be a better choice in this regard.

I read an old post from Kalin about his Z (I also know he since moved on to the SEZ), he seemed to swear by it. Anyone else paddling a Z right now? Or a SuperEZ with any strong opinions?

Martin, I'll include your private post after this.. good information to have on record.

Thanks again.

++++
EMAIL FROM MARTIN
++++

Hey Mike,

Good to hear that your war wounds are doing well. The Super EZ should definitely be a decent C1 for you, but it will be more play than river running oriented, since at 7 ft it is fairly short and thus very slow (but that might just be my personal preference speaking here, I just haven't paddled a short C1 , i.e. 7 ft or less, that I really liked. I am more into longer slicey boats like the Delirious or the Sith).

It should be easy for you to throw it around in a hole or on a wave and it should be easy to do all kinds of flatwater moves in it as well, , however
ferries will be hard due to the low hull speed and you may find that you get thrownaround quite a bit in boily and pushy stuff. It is fairly wide, so it should have decent stability.

I know that Kalin, who is about your size, liked his Super EZ a lot, but he also had a Pyranha H3 245 that he used on the harder runs.I think the Super EZ will be a great boat for the Middle Ottawa or the Main at low levels and should also do well at the Gull at low too medium levels, it will however be a little more iffy on the Main at medium to high levels as well as on the Gull at high levels and probably not great for running stuff like the Kipawa or so.

If you are looking for a C1 with more emphasis on river running than a playing (I am talking cartwheels, spins and such here, not surfing), then you might also consider something like a Wavesport Z. They are also relatively commonly converted into C1 and can be picked up used a yak's for around can$ 500. They are longer (8'4") and faster, better in pushier stuff, but can't do any flatwater moves and are not as easily thrown around on a wave or in a hole.

Essentially what boat you want to get depends on what you want to do with
it. Also keep in mind that due to the different position and the use of a single blade only the same boat will feel quite different as a C1 than it does as yak, so if a certain boat has a certain behavior as a yak, this may not be the case once it is converted into a C1.
________
Dexter forums